A explaining the benifits of following the viewpoints
~Hello there! ^_^
Your question: Determining your point of view toward a topic helps you decide..?
Your answer: Determining your point of view toward a topic helps you decide which aspects of the topic to discuss.
The answer is option A.
Hope this helps~
Since astute means someone is very sharp and perceptive, I would say astute has a positive connotation.
Hope this helps! :)